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Gavin Reider

Published: Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, August 21, 2009 at 11:25 a.m.

It doesn't take much to make Gavin Reider happy.

Facts

About the series

Gavin Reider is a part of the Class of 2022 project. The StarNews will be following him and 11 other area students from kindergarten through high school graduation, to see through their eyes what it's like growing up in Southeastern North Carolina during changing times.

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A game of duck duck goose, a trip to a new park, a pretty girl in his kindergarten class on the first day of school.

“He's just really excited about life,” mom Sara Reider said. “He's just happy all the time - a ray of sunshine.”

The oldest of three, Gavin has tons of energy, a contagious smile and a love of new experiences, especially sports such as surfing and basketball.

Gavin was born with moderate autism. It doesn't affect the 5-year-old's learning abilities, but he sometimes has a hard time communicating and socializing with his peers.

“This is the age where kids are starting to notice that he's different - that's what's scary about it,” Reider said. “He loves other kids, he just can't interact with them, because he's not on their level socially.”

So far, it's going well, Reider said. The first day of school at Eaton Elementary, which is on a year-round calender, was a month ago. Gavin rode the bus all by himself, has already made friends and enjoys “playing ball away from the parents,” he said. He attends regular classes with the other children, and is taken out periodically for targeted instruction.

It's hard to tell at this age how much autism will affect Gavin later in life, but his mom is optimistic.

“I just want him to live a full life, get everything he can out of school so that he can go on and be a productive member of society,” Reider said. “With autism, you always have that fear of whether he'll be able to live on his own, but I'm staying positive and saying that he will.”

<p>It doesn't take much to make Gavin Reider happy.</p><p>A game of duck duck goose, a trip to a new park, a pretty girl in his kindergarten class on the first day of school.</p><p>“He's just really excited about life,” mom Sara Reider said. “He's just happy all the time - a ray of sunshine.”</p><p>The oldest of three, Gavin has tons of energy, a contagious smile and a love of new experiences, especially sports such as surfing and basketball.</p><p>Gavin was born with moderate autism. It doesn't affect the 5-year-old's learning abilities, but he sometimes has a hard time communicating and socializing with his peers.</p><p>“This is the age where kids are starting to notice that he's different - that's what's scary about it,” Reider said. “He loves other kids, he just can't interact with them, because he's not on their level socially.”</p><p>So far, it's going well, Reider said. The first day of school at Eaton Elementary, which is on a year-round calender, was a month ago. Gavin rode the bus all by himself, has already made friends and enjoys “playing ball away from the parents,” he said. He attends regular classes with the other children, and is taken out periodically for targeted instruction.</p><p>It's hard to tell at this age how much autism will affect Gavin later in life, but his mom is optimistic.</p><p>“I just want him to live a full life, get everything he can out of school so that he can go on and be a productive member of society,” Reider said. “With autism, you always have that fear of whether he'll be able to live on his own, but I'm staying positive and saying that he will.”</p><p><i>-- Chelsea Kellner</i></p>